For years, Sen. Ron Johnson has been spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation about COVID-19 and the safety of vaccines. He's promoted disproven treatments for COVID-19 and claimed, without evidence, that athletes are "dropping dead on the field" after getting the COVID-19 vaccination. Now the Wisconsin politician is endorsing a book by a discredited doctor promoting an unproven and dangerous treatment for autism and a host of ailments: chlorine dioxide, a chemical used for disinfecting and bleaching.
Driving is easily one of the most dangerous tasks in our daily lives. And our own good driving is only half of the equation when it comes to staying safe on the road " the driving habits of those around us also play a pivotal role.
Researchers found that Covid vaccines reduced the risk of emergency room and urgent care visits by 56% to 76%. It comes as some federal health officials have sowed doubt in the shots. read more
Germany accused Russia of repeated hostile actions, including acts of sabotage, cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns aimed at influencing elections.
Federal tax prosecutions fell to their lowest level in decades this year, declining more than 27% from the year before as the Trump administration cut the ranks of attorneys and agents who pursue those cases, a Reuters examination has found. read more
More ...
New Epstein photos turn heads, but file dumps just getting started
www.yahoo.com
... Congressional Democrats released another eyebrow-raising batch of photos Dec. 12 further linking several high-profile people, including President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton, to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019.
But the fallout is just beginning. And the trove of information available to the public is about to get much bigger.
The disclosure of 19 new undated images, which showed celebrities including director Woody Allen and Trump's former West Wing aide Steve Bannon, was a prelude to even more file dumps that Democrats on the House Oversight Committee plan to make available to the public from a recent 95,000-photo disclosure. The panel published more than 70 additional pictures later the same day. (Lawmakers provided only limited specifics about the images, none of which specifically implicated any of the pictured individuals in any alleged wrongdoing.)
"We've gone through maybe about 25,000 of them so far," Rep. Robert Garcia, D-California, the ranking member of the panel, told reporters Dec. 12. "Some of the other photos that we did not put out today are incredibly disturbing." ...
@#24
Wait, what?
Providing an ASL interpreter tarnishes the image Pres Trump wants to convey?
Speaking the quiet part out loud? ...
Donald Trump Accused Of Making Heartless Comment About Disabled People Dying (2024)
www.forbes.com
... Former President and current Republican nominee Donald Trump has been accused of once saying that it may be better for people living with serious disabilities to "just die." The startling revelation was laid out in a new book authored by Trump's nephew Fred Trump III the son of the former President's older brother Fred Trump Jr who passed away in 1981. ...
Related ...
White House raises concerns about Trump's image' in lawsuit over sign language interpreters
www.politico.com
... The White House is making an unusual argument as it resists advocates' push for sign language interpretation at press briefings conducted by President Donald Trump and press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Providing American sign language interpretation in press conferences "would severely intrude on the President's prerogative to control the image he presents to the public," Justice Department attorneys argued in a lawsuit filed by the National Association for the Deaf.
The novel argument is just one part of the White House's case against providing ASL interpretation, and DOJ attorneys haven't elaborated much on the alleged intrusion. But it has raised concerns among advocates, and even the judge in the case. ...
Ron Johnson
en.wikipedia.org
... Despite a pledge in 2016[27] to retire after two terms in the Senate, Johnson announced in January 2022 that he would run for a third term.[28]
He faced the Democratic nominee, Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, in the general election.[29]
Johnson debated Barnes in October 2022; when each was asked to say something favorable about his opponent, Barnes praised Johnson as a "family man", while Johnson said Barnes had a "good upbringing" and used that to question why Barnes had "turned against America".[30]
In the November 8 general election, Johnson defeated Barnes with 50.4% of the vote.[31] ...
@#1 ... What, they want to keep their jobs or something? ...
The choice that seems to be in front of many (most?) GOP Congress folk of late looks to be: step on to the Trump train, or be subject to a primary and lose.
Tracking the retirement announcements of members of Congress
abcnews.go.com
... Ahead of next year's midterms, a number of members from both major parties have already announced they're heading for the exits, either because they're seeking higher office, simply aren't running again, or are leaving the chamber early. ...
imo, the 2026 election my be interesting ...
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Connecticut reports first case of measles in years
portal.ct.gov
... The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) today announced that it has confirmed a case of measles in an unvaccinated Fairfield County child under the age of 10. This is the first case of measles in Connecticut in more than four years. Nationwide, more than 1,800 cases of measles have been reported in 2025 " the most since the virus was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000 and the most cases in more than three decades, according to the International Vaccine Access Center ...
... also ...
Connecticut has highest measles vaccination rate in the country, according to new CDC data (August 2025)
portal.ct.gov
... Connecticut continues to receive top marks nationally for immunization rates with the first day of school just weeks away. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Connecticut ranked highest in the country for two-dose measles vaccination rate. The percentage of Connecticut kindergarten students receiving required measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine in the 2024"2025 school year is 98.3%. This is an increase of 0.5% from the previous year. ...
... everything the President did was National Archive material, for the public good? Whats with this? ...
Now that Pres Trump controls the National Archives, my guess woyuld be that any records of the Obama era would likely be disappeared.
Trump's Hostile Takeover of the National Archives -- and Our Nation's History (March 2025)
americanoversight.org
... As President Trump goes after the institutions and offices designed to hold him in check, nothing is safe from his administration's rampage through the federal government -- not even the nonpolitical, nonpartisan National Archives and Records Administration.
The National Archives (NARA) has been a primary target of Trump's retribution tour, having been at the center of the criminal case against Trump for his alleged mishandling of classified documents when he left office in 2021.
When he returned to the White House in January 2025, he wasted little time in purging NARA's top leadership to make room for loyal officials more likely to do his bidding " or even to turn a blind eye to future legal violations, including of the Presidential Records Act.
At stake isn't just the preservation of government documents, but also our nation's historical record remaining free from partisan political interference. ...
@#2 ... Management? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ...
I find it difficult to disagree.